Oilcloth



Nov. 30 1926. 1,608,766

A. B. BUCHANAN OILCLOTH Filed April 9, 1925 Jnucnfoi;

Patented Nov. 30, 1926.

UNITED STATES ANDREW RBU'GHANAN, OI PEEKSKILL, NEW YORK..'

OILCLOTH.

Application filed April 9. 1925. Serial No. 21,943.

This invention relates to oil cloth and to a process of making oilcloth'and has particular reference to improvements in the ground for thewaterproof coating or coatings.

Heretofore in the manufacture of oil cloth it has been the commonpractice to employ as the ground a cotton cloth knownin trade as, forinstance, 52"+l8 x 48-385 cloth, which means a cotton cloth 52 incheswide and having 48 threads to the inch, both longitudinally andtransversely, and running 3.85 yards to the pound. In recent yearslighter grades of cloth having as low as 40 threads to the inch andrunning as high as 5.25 to 5.50 yards to the pound have been used forthe purpose of cheapening the product, but the use of such cloth isundesirable for several reasons, among which may be mentioned the costof filling it and the stiffness of the oil cloth product.

The first step in the manufacture of oil cloth from cotton fabric is tofill it. With a .closely woven cotton cloth the quantity of fillingmaterial deposited in the mesh and fibers is relatively small and thecloth remains relatively flexible, but with a loosely woven cloth theratio of filling material to fiber in the filled cloth is relativelylarge, and it is still and has a tendency to crack. Vhen low gradefillersare used,' as is usually the case when a loosely woven cloth isused, this stiffness is pronounced. The filling of loosely woven clothwithhigh grade flexible fillers is not practical because this would morethan otl'set the saving incident to the use of loosely woven clothinstead of closely woven cloth. and besides the more loosely woven isthe cloth the greater is the quantity of filler required. Even when aloosely woven cloth is filled with high grade fillers the product issomewhat stiff.

It has been proposed to use paper as the ground for oil cloth and alsoto make composite fabrics comprising a waterproof coating upon a backingof cloth and paper glued together.

I have found that oil cloth of suitable strength, flexibility, and otherproperties characteristic of high grade oil cloth and oilcloth wallcoverings maybe madeat a relatively low cost-of production by using asthe ground afabric formed by filling the mesh of cotton cloth withcelulose fiber such as paper pulp.

count mesh cotton cloth than is practicable in the presentway ofmanufacturing light weight table, carriage and enamelled oilcloth oroil-cloth wall covering. Further the base of this invention requiresfewer coats for finishing than the oil-cloth bases heretofore used.Oil-cloth and oil-cloth wall covering at the present time requiresatleast four coats and shows the mesh of the cotton cloth even then,while the base made by this process finished with one coat is 'perfectlvfree from this defect. a

My invention is particularly designed to make use of inexpensive cottoncloth such as cheese cloth or tobacco cloth running as low as say 10threads to the inch, and-the invent1on will be described in thisconnection, it being understood however that the use of better grades ofcloth running up to say threadsto the inch is not precluded. The

feature of my invention to be described hereinafter, namely filling themesh of the cloth with cellulose fiber, not only makes possible the useof light wei ht inexpensive cloth with the production 0 a high grade,flexible product, but has other advantages as will appear hereinafter,regardless ofthe grade of cloth employed.

The cloth maybe filled and coated with cellulose fiber in any suitablemanner. The following two methods, both of which have been usedsuccessfully will serve as illustrations. The most effective,inexpensive and preferred method as follows:

In the manufacture of paper according to the usual method, the paperpulp is gathered upon an endless wire net or screen forming a sheet ofloose wet fiber or pulp which is carried 'to' rollers. By feeding thecotton cloth onto the wet sheet of pulp and passing the pol and clothtogether through the rollers, te pulp is forced into the meshof thecloth and thoroughly fills them, producing. a composite fabric in whichthe cloth and the paper fiber are firmly bonded together and the mesh ofthe cloth completely filled, One-surface of the fabric is similar to thesurface of paper, the

cloth being completely covered, while on the opposite surface the'clothis visible, but-the mesh is filled with .the paper fiber,

Another method of forming a composite fabric suitable for use in thepreparation of oil cloth in accordance with my invention is to pass asheet of the cloth and a sheet liu In both cases above referred to thecloth may, if desired, be. filled and coated. with paper. fiberv from.both sides. Other methods of making the composite fabric probably may bedevised. For instance, the

cloth, may be passed through a body of paper pulp andthe cloth thuscoated and filled with the pulp passed through rolls.

as in the usual paper-making process.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is. an edge View of a fabric filled and coated with paper fiberon one side only and finished with a waterproof coating;

-- and Fig. 2 is an edge view of a fabric'in which the cloth is filledand coated with paper fiber on both sides and finished, on one side witha waterproof coating. 1

Fabric prepared as described is particularly suited for use as a groundfor oil cloth. It is strong and flexible and combines the desirablecharacteristics of cloth and paper, that is, it is strong and flexibleand at the same time smooth and compact. The coating material maybeapplied directly on the fabric or it may be first sized in order toprevent the coating composition from penetrating into it. In eithercase, due to the compact structure of the fabric, it does not absorb asufficient amount of the sizing material or the coating composition tomake it stifi. Also, due to the smoothness of the fabric and to the factthat the coating composition does not appreciably penetrate f into thefabric, a minimum quantity of coating compositionqis required. The coating of the fabric, either directly on the fabric or after sizing, iscarried out in the usual way, that is, in the same way that filled clothis coated. For instance, it is first given one or more priming coats ofa relatively heavy bodied coating composition containing for exampleheavy boiled oil, glue, gum, pigments, etc, and then one or morefinishing .coats of, for instance, a' paint-like composition of a dryingoil and a pigment and then a coat of a flexible, clear or coloredvarnish or enamel. It may of course be colored or printed with designs,calendered and finished in the usual way- It is noted that in accordancewith my invention the usual filling of the cloth with compositions suchas glue or drying oils or both, and pigments, etc., is avoided.

T he filling of the mesh of the cloth with the cellulose fiber may besaid to take the place paper pulp.

respect to' manufacture, and in that it gives a smoother surface and amore flexible structure.

While the backing which is used for the manufacture of oil-clothaccording to this invention. has been described asmade from F cottoncloth filled with paper pulp, inasmuch as cotton. cloth. is the mostdesirable on account. of its low cost, it is obvious that textilefabricsmade of any other fibrous material than cotton may be used inplace of cotton cloth. The essential feature of the backing is a textilefabric filled with 1. Oil cloth consisting of a backing composed ofcloth. filled and coated withpaper pulp. and a waterproof. coating overthe paper f coating,

' 2. Oil cloth consisting of a backing and a waterproof coating. on oneside of the backing, said backing consisting of cloth, the mesh of whichis filled with cellulose fiber. p, i

3. Oil cloth consisting ofabacking and a waterproof coating on one sideof. the backing, said backing consisting of cloth filled and coated onboth sides with paper pulp.

4. Oil cloth consisting of a backing and a waterproof coating on oneside of the backing, said backing consisting of cloth running. as-low as10 threads to the inch, the

mesh of which is filled with paper pulp.

5. Oilscloth consisting of a bacln'ng. and a water-proof'coating, saidbacking consisting of tobacco cloth filled and coated with paper pulp,the water-proof coating being over the paper coating.

6, Method of making oil-cloth which comprises pressing a sheet of loosewet paper pulp into the mesh of cotton cloth-and coating'theresultingfabric with a water-proof composition.

7-. Method of making oil-cloth which comprises pressing a sheet of softfibrous paper 7 into the mesh of cotton cloth and coating the resultingfabric with a water-proof composition.

8. Method of malnngjoil cloth which comprises filling and coating clothwith paper pulp and coating the resulting fabric with a water-proofcomposition.

9. Oil-cloth comprising a backing which.

consists of cloth filled and coated with paper with paper pulp, sizingthe paper coating and applying a Water-proof coating on the resultingfabric.

12. Method of making oil-cloth which comprises filling and coatingcotton cloth with soft fibrous paper, the two being joined by anadhesive, and coating the resulting fabric With a Water-proofcomposition.

13. Method of making oil-cloth which 10 comprises applying a coating ofadhesive to cotton cloth and to a sheet of soft fibrous paper, pressingthe paper sheet into the mesh of the cotton cloth and applying aWaterproof coating on the resulting fabric.

14. Oil-cloth consisting of a sized backing composed of cotton clothfilled and coated with paper pulp, and a Water-proof coating over thepaper coating.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature.

ANDREW B. BUCHANAN.

